Ranking the top five Chicago Cubs leadoff hitters in history

Chicago Cubs: Stan Hack

The single greatest leadoff hitter in Cubs history is the often forgotten about Stan Hack. I say that Hack is often forgotten about because he played back in the ’30s and ’40s and many of us probably never even watched him play. But in his 16 seasons spent with the Cubs, he put up insane numbers out of the leadoff spot year after year.

Hack was everything you looked for out of a leadoff hitter and more. He set the table for the Cubs offense by getting on base any way he could. He could certainly hit the ball but also had the patience to see a lot of pitches and take a walk. When he got on base, he seemingly came around to score just about every time.

Throughout his career with the Chicago Cubs, 74 percent of his plate appearances came out of the leadoff spot. As a leadoff hitter, Hack had a .398 on-base percentage to go along with a .302 batting average while scoring 940 runs. He was a five-time All-Star and helped lead the Cubs to four World Series appearances, although they lost each time.

Hack naturally excelled at getting on base. He had great patience and vision at the plate as he walked more than twice as much as he struck out. Out of the leadoff spot, he walked 850 times compared to just 340 strikeouts, which nowadays is something you never see anymore. With how often Hack was on base he scored 100 runs or more in seven seasons.

At the plate he recorded 190 hits four times in his career, hitting over .300 in his six seasons.  Hack ended up leading the league in hits in both 1940 and 1941. Hack was a great contact hitter but didn’t feature much power. In his career, he only hit 43 home runs and only led off a game twice with a long ball.